hardened candle wax and stacks of debris. in total, the crew fills five 20-foot-long dumpsters. >> i didn't think it was ever, ever going to get done ever. ever. it was the longest job we've ever done. we recovered that house. the place got cleaned out completely. and straightened out. they put it on the market. we got there just in time. >> hoarding is a serious disorder that can leave many feeling hopeless and overwhelmed. but as we've seen, whether the issue is garbage, books or animals, life saving help is available. i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera." from the startling -- >> if i went and did that, i'd

be either arrested or shot or shot, then arrested. >> -- to the silly. >> you're like, wow, that kid's got some, to get up there. >> to the sublime. >> why do they think they can get away with it? >> they're viral video, short moments caught on camera that we can't stop watching. and like a virus, pass along. >> first thing you do is send it to ten of your friends. >> people are flooding the internet with videos hoping they'll go viral. >> everybody is making videos now. >> oh, my god, i can put my kid on there and get a million views and then be on david letterman? >> being with a guy putting a cat down their pants. >> why do people love cats so much? >> the videos can be riveting? but can you believe everything you see? >> if that's fake i get angry at people. >> you can fake that completely. >> have you been fooled? what's real and what's not? >> this one had me fooled 110%.

>> "caught on camera -- viral videos, real or fake?" welcome to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. they are everywhere -- on websites like youtube, embedded in blogs, even in your e-mail. and chances are you've watched them and maybe even forwarded on one or two along to someone else. the videos you're about to see were all popular. some are funny. some are poignant. all amazing clips. but they may have left you wondering, are they real or are they fake? ♪ wait, did someone just spray paint graffiti on air force one?

>> in this video, a couple of guys essentially climb a fence, elude the secret service, run up to air force one and put a graffiti tag on air force one while this is all being videotaped. >> you're like, wait a minute, are they going to do something to air force one? you're like, what is going on here? this is crazy. >> did someone really break into andrews air force base and spray paint or tag the president's plane? >> i think people really want to believe it's true. >> the video hit the internet in 2006 and quickly became a sensation. >> the first reaction is always, is this real? and if this is real, how can this be real? and what does this mean for the security of our country maybe if this video is real? >> so did it really happen?

was the video real or fake? >> it just doesn't pass the sniper test really is what it would be. if i were to run up to the air force one in all black with a backpack, i don't think i would survive that run. if i went and did that, i would be either arrested or shot or shot, then arrested. >> i think what we were trying to accomplish was a pop culture moment. >> marc ecko is a designer and a video game developer. the air force one caper was part of a viral marketing campaign for a game called "getting up." >> it was to get people to talk about the game and to author something that was culturally relevant. >> in the game, the main character uses graffiti to protest a corrupt and totalitarian authority. mark and his creative team brain stormed for a stunt that would bring attention to the game.

>> the symbol of air force one was so loaded, and the absurdity of me being able to hop a fence with a spray can was just so absurd, we said, we got to do this. we got to figure this one out. >> ecko teamed up with advertising agency and creative shop droga5 to make it happen. >> the first thing was, i guess we have to rent a 747. >> they found a plane. >> oh, my goodness. >> and painted it to look like air force one. >> we wanted it to look as authentic as possible, because that's what's going to get people to raise their eyebrows and go, really, is this real? the layout of the fence and where the plane would be in relation to that fence was very, very authentic. the hangar size nearby was very, very authentic. and even the signs that say andrews air force base are the real signs. >> while in theory they weren't doing anything illegal, the production was not without risk.

>> we start the shoot and we pull out a 747 and it was just like that holy [ bleep ] moment, is this really happening? and all of a sudden helicopters start flying about. police showed up. there was no shortage of creative tension that night. >> if we had somehow put this video out there and someone had panicked and stopped a presidential flight from happening, we might have been in trouble. luckily, that didn't happen. >> they manage to avoid a national security incident and created a video that got international attention. the air force one stunt hit the internet in 2006 during the early wave of viral videos. just a few years later, skepticism and its competition have risen exponentially. >> the medium of viral video was still very new. the perfect window of opportunity there that existed, that really doesn't exist today, where the suspension of

disbelief existed around videos. you automatically suppose that everything you saw on the internet was real. and that window allowed for this opportunity to do this kind of -- to use viral video as the perfect medium to put together this stunt, if you will. >> you're competing with a guy that put a cat down his pants or something. you have to be genuinely entertaining because the next video below you is going fob to be funny or cute or outrageous. you'd better make an impression. >> that mark ecko video was so creative. it was so well executed it looked and felt like somebody was breaking in somewhere. it gave that you self-doubt, is this real or fake. so the first thing you do is you send it to ten of your friends. real, fake, i don't know. >> from a highly planned and produced video to one with a concept that couldn't have been more simple. a man named matt who likes to dance. >> i love it. it's totally captivating.

>> what matt did was just for fun was traveling around the world and at every location he would basically dance a little jig. he edited these together and creating a video of himself dancing jigs around the world. it was well done and creative and unique video at the time. >> but along with the notoriety came the detractors. some suggested the video was fake, that there was no way he could go to all these places, that the video was constructed with special effects and green screen technology. >> there's certain situations where i see a video and i think, if that's fake, i get angry at people. i'd be like, what are you -- i can't believe you did that. i was emotionally invested in this thing because i thought had it guy was actually there. >> could one guy really dance in all these places? >> i'd be ticked. i'd be ticked if it was a green screen fake. does anybody know what this guy does for a living? >> traveling god's green earth

or standing in front of the green screen? when we come back. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self? c'mon, michael! get in the game! [ male announcer ] don't have the hops for hoops with your buddies?

lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey!questions? anyone have occasional constipation diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend

against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. in 2005, a video game designer named matt harding posted this video of himself online. >> some friends found it and they put it on their blogs and it ended up getting passed around. >> before he knew it, the video had more than a million hits. >> it sort of kept having these spikes where it would get bigger and bigger and more people would come in, different countries. suddenly sweden is watching the video. suddenly south korea is watching the video. late in 2005 it had this really big spike.

suddenly it i was getting called by tv shows and newspapers. >> and it certainly caught my attention. will you dance with me? >> sure. >> but for all the attention the video got, people said it couldn't be real, that the exotic locations were really a combination of editing magic or green screen technology. so was the video real? or fake? >> the video is not fake. it's not a hoax. it's not manufactured. there's no special effects involved. i really did go to all those places and set up a camera and danced. i started out working as a video game designer. so in 2003, i quit my job. i took the money i saved up to go on a trip around the world. i spent six months traveling to about 17 different countries. and a few months into that trip, i was traveling with a friend. we were in vietnam taking pictures. >> i was just like you should do that stupid dance you do on camera.

>> we shot it and i liked the way it looked and decided to keep on doing that everywhere i went on this trip around the world. i put the clips together thinking it would a nice memento for me to have of my trip around the world and it might be amusing to some of my friends. i didn't think it would be interesting to anyone who wasn't me or someone i knew. and people started passing it around. >> where can he go where somebody will not ask him to do that dance? >> when the dance in that video came about, there weren't a lot of people who were going around filming themselves, number one. number two, there weren't a lot of people editing them together. number three, there weren't a lot of people who took a creative approach of stringing them all together in one specific video, and four, actively wanting to share it. matt came about at a time when people didn't know that you could do this. and people weren't actually trying to achieve fame. they were doing it for fun and to share it with friends and family. today, would that video be successful? hard to know. >> by the end of this one, it's so inspirational about the world

and coming together as a people and, like -- you know what i mean? >> the video got the attention of stride gum, which made matt an offer he couldn't refuse. >> stride gum is a chewing gum company that was about to come into market in 2006. and they called me up and they said -- they asked if i'd be interested in making another video with their help. and so in 2006, i spent six months traveling to 39 countries on all seven continents to make the second dancing video with them. >> he got stride gum to fund his next trip, which is -- i mean, i think that is the goal for any viral video, is get somebody to pay you to make the next one. >> people started achieving real fame through the internet. marketers suddenly paid attention and increasingly saw more brands reach out to people who achieved a dedicated online following and try to integrate their brands with them or

increasingly have them create content on their behalf. they realized this would be a wonderful way to get exposure without having to pay for exposure. >> the second video was so popular, matt did a third one. this time he called in reinforcements. >> my favorite clip in that second video informs rwanda where i danced with a bunch of kids in a village, and i thought that's more interesting. i should be doing that all along. so i went back to stride and i told them this idea for another video where i'd take all the e-mails from people all over the world who said, why didn't you come dance in my country. and i would go there and invite them to come dance with me. and we got thousands of people to come out and dance with me for this third video. >> there is movie star fame. rock star fame. even reality show fame. but this was different. >> we came up with this term e-lebrity, somebody who came to fame through the internet. >> with that and e-lebrity status, there was no going back to day job. >> i make videos in which i dance badly for a living.

>> i'm working on a book about making the videos. from time to time i get invited to go speak at colleges, grade schools, corporate events and things like that. and i've been enjoying being at home as much as possible because for the last five years i've not spent a lot of time here in seattle. >> but the fame and fortune came from traveling the world. so can we expect to see matt dancing again? >> there's a few places that i still haven't managed to get to. number one on the list is, and probably will always be outer space. i'd love to get up into space. i hope someday that i'll figure out some way to get up there. a trip to the department of motor vehicles could be one of the most universally dreaded things we all have to do. but in this next viral video, two filmmakers appear to make trip after trip to the richmond dmv willingly and in costume. and each time, they come out

with a new license. >> it's already pretty interesting to see some of the spray painting hair on their head. it's kind of a good look. a little non-pc racial humor. definitely popular, whether you love it or hate it. funny idea. i like the concept a lot. i was instantly skeptical because you could fake that completely and there was zero footage of them in the dmv. >> how are they letting them redo licenses that often? >> the video took off generating millions of hits and attracting media attention. >> let's begin with a couple of independent filmmakers in virginia who took some artistic licenses when they went to get their drivers licenses. >> in post-9/11 america, could anyone really get away with this? find out if it really happened. when "caught on camera: viral videos, real or fake?" returns.

driver's license pictures are notoriously bad. but in 2006, filmmakers dave stewart and will carsola took bad to a whole new level.

>> this video features a couple of jack [ bleep ]. dressing up ridiculously and getting their photos taken for a driver's license in virginia. a great concept. it's that kind of subversive but really stupid and silly, kind of smart/dumb idea. the pictures are pretty funny and spray painting hair on somebody's head is also pretty funny. the unibrow is great. >> they were like, weren't you just in here? >> i'm not going to get away with this. >> like so many viral videos, this one left people wondering. >> there was zero footage of them in the actual dmv. >> look how dirty my face is, dude. >> actually didn't believe this much at all. anyone can photo shop a driver's license to have that picture. but at the same time, it's funnier if it is true. >> i'm going to go get me another one. >> did these two filmmakers really pull it off?

are the licenses and the video real? >> it's a hard real or fake one. nowadays, dmv getting a government-issued i.d. isn't going to be so easy. >> apparently, at least in this case, it is. the video and the licenses are all real. but when we spoke to will and dave, it was clear to them the video was more than just viral. >> we created a beautiful piece of art. art. art. art. >> we are not just men. we are art, art, artists. >> it was art. >> can you please say that? this is where we find our inspiration inside of here. >> their art seemed to have no off switch. >> well, i like to think of myself as a canvas. for the moment, this is my true self. i can't help being me. it's just who i am. >> they showed up to our interview dressed in garbage bags and wearing plastic sunglasses.

will wore a high top sneaker on one hand while dave wrapped his in tin foil and painted eyes on his eyelids. >> well, the idea came in a dream. the cosmos is aligned. >> and now we are huge hollywood movie stars. >> we are geniuses, and we deserve that kind of attention. >> i just wanted to really capture the struggle of people. i'm sorry. what was the question? i get a little lost in myself. >> this is rad. rad is our only friend. >> the more we talked to them, the more we wondered, was the interview they were giving us real or fake? we went to their website, where they wrote about sitting for an interview with us. they said they decided to help us spice it up a bit and answer our questions as art-fashion snobs. so what was the real story with the video? we went back to 2006. and one of the first television interviews will and dave did

when the media picked up on their stories. >> i decided just randomly to go to the dmv and try to get a funny picture. i got away with crossing my eyes and looking ridiculous. from there, it just escalated. dave went a couple of times. and we just kind of tried to top each other's driver's license. >> this one is going to be the one that definitely does not work. >> dave got away with painting the top of his head black and bringing the fake buck teeth. that surprised us a lot. it was hilarious but at the same time it was kind of scary. the only thing i could think to top that was paint my whole face red. >> for some weird reason i think people will look at me kind of strange. >> we were definitely surprised. every time we walked out, we were completely in shock. before we went in we said we're definitely not going to be able to get away with this. every time we were more and more surprised. >> they were not buying it at all. finally i was up at the booth talking to the guy for 20 minutes. he kept stalling going in the back. everyone was looking at me.

>> it was especially a surprise to the richmond dmv who became aware of the stunt after it was publicized in the local paper. the dmv was less than pleased and demanded the licenses back. will and dave claim they lost them. the virginia dmv said it updated the policy and will deny a license or i.d. card to anyone who appears in disguise. >> when these videos came out, the first reaction was wow these guys are awesome. how did they come up with this idea and why did they think they could get away with this? what they did was they managed to go get a number of driver's license pictures with completely different identities in a post-9/11 world. this is remarkable and it caused a major outcry. >> maybe one of the reasons i was a little skeptical is really the dmv is that lax about letting stuff go with the way security works in this country? >> will and dave said they meant no harm and maybe even did some good. >> it was a joke and escalated to an issue of national security. did we expect that? no. but i think it's a good thing

that it did. people do know someone can get a license that easy. >> you can call them filmmakers, pranksters. >> we're heroes. artists. >> we don't like to put boundaries on what we do. >> whatever you want to call them, will and dave have made a video that for a moment anyway captured people's attention. but has that attention changed them? you decide. >> everybody just wants to be our friend now. our inner circle, we are just glowing. >> all that really matters in life is that you're either famous or you're not. and we are famous. >> now we go from two guys getting replacement licenses to what appears to be a young man practicing to get his first one. >> in this series of videos, a kid signs up for driving license and essentially torments the instructors by being the worst possible driver. >> this driving student takes call after call on his cell phone, ignoring and infuriating his driving instructors. >> just hang up the [ bleep ] phone. >> that kid is hysterical.

he is hysterical. >> what kind of 15-year-old signs up for driving lessons and actively takes out his phone and asks the driving instructor to hold the wheel. >> ten and two, ten and two. >> this is not a nightclub. >> i'm just being extremely difficult. i keep picking up my phone and talking on my phone. >> john, john, john. >> he's clapping, i don't know. it's me trying to cause as much trouble as possible basically. >> did he just decide to film his driving lessons or is there more to the video than that? >> you want to believe this has happened. at the end, i don't know. >> get out of the car, i'm driving. >> more "caught on camera -- viral videos, real or fake" when we come back.

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i'm craig melvin. here is what is happening right now. president obama seen earlier for christmas in hawaii may cut his vacation early for fiscal cliff talks. congress returns thursday. here is dramatic video we just got in from alabama where a large tornado blew through mobile tonight. another funnel cloud touched down in mississippi. and spending pulse reports retail holiday sales this year grew at its weakest pace since 2008 when this country was in recession. back to "caught on camera." welcome back to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. now, here's a young man who infuriates a series of driving instructors. he gets behind the wheel of his car and then takes call after call on his cell phone. but is it real or is it fake? let's watch and find out. >> driving is very easy, just relax drive, okay? >> this viral video hit the internet in 2008.

>> watch for the pedestrian in front of you. >> shouldn't hit that guy, right? >> no. >> just how frustrated can a driving instructor get? we're about to see. [ ringing ] >> hello. >> no, don't talk on telephone. sorry about -- >> marty, what's up? >> hang up. hang up on the phone. >> hey, just stop snapping. grandma, yeah, it's me. >> ten and two, ten and two with the hands. >> can you hold that for me? >> uh-huh. >> john, john, john. >> he's clapping, i don't know. >> thank you, thank you. >> oh, my god. >> just hang up the [ bleep ] phone. >> it's seeing the genuine reaction of the instructors that struck a chord with everybody. you're watching this going, i can't believe this kid had the -- to do this. i can't believe he pulled it off and i can't believe these people didn't just slap him silly. >> but the ever cynical online viewing audience had its doubts. >> ten and two, ten and two, ten and two. >> this is not a nightclub. >> please turn it off. >> i couldn't tell about this one, if it was real or fake.

i had a few things that made me skeptical of it. one, you can see a lot of different camera angles, especially when he first gets in the car. i counted four different camera angles. it's a pretty elaborate setup for a high school kid. >> was the video for real? now, this is a two-part question. first, is the kid playing a prank or is this a genuine situation caught on camera? second, if it is a prank, are the instructors in on it or are these real reactions? well, yes and no. but mostly no. >> this one had me fooled, 110%. >> while most of the driving teachers were actual instructors, two were actors. in both cases, the videos were unscripted, depending on the improv skills of the student, an actor named johnny pemberton. >> no, go right. keep your hands on the wheel. this is totally dangerous. >> just chill out. i'm not talking to you. you don't need to chill out. people ask is it real or fake? i always say it's both. at one point where do you draw the line.

between what is real and what is fake? >> sir, may i have your attention? >> you don't like me, john. >> [ bleep ] it. [ bleep ] it. >> pull over. >> i kept talking like a friend of mine, like some beach bum dude named kenny. just describing everything in the world to him talking about like the house or just kind of -- just stupid stuff. talked with my grandma a couple of times so i had to yell really loud. grandma, hey. >> we're probably going to have to go back. >> no, i'm driving. >> pull over here. >> i'm just being really arrogant, a little son of a [ bleep ] in the car. the hardest thing for me was actually riling the guys up. >> keep your [ bleep ] hands on the driving wheel. >> driving wheel, like steering wheel? i had to hit garbage cans. even then, it took them a while to get angry about stuff. >> we all like to see other people getting tormented. we like to laugh at other people's misfortune. in this case, the emotional reaction of the driving instructors were extraordinarily genuine. they were angry, they were scared. they were in shock and disbelief. >> i swear to god it's the house from wayne's world. i'm going to turn around. >> no. straight.

>> internet fame has often been the main reason for posting these videos, but there was another reason behind this one. advertising. >> can i have my phone back? >> no. >> it turns out this was really a campaign for a wireless headset provider. but most people don't know that. that's the best part. most people just watch it, they think it's an amazing video, they share it with somebody. >> as you know from first of july you're not allowed to talk on the cell phone. >> it's ridiculous. >> parrot is the world's largest manufacturer of hand-free car kits. we wanted to show how complicated and inconvenient and sometimes even dangerous it becomes to be talking on the phone while you're trying to concentrate and do something else. >> parrot communications and ground zero advertising bet on viral video to drive their point home. but what makes the video so believable is there's an element of reality to it. >> pull over! get out of the car. i'm driving. >> hold on, hold on, hold on. >> get out of the car.

>> we showed the problem by going out and secretly signing up a bunch of driving instructors. they showed up. they were unaware that our student driver was actually a plant. and as he was taking his driving course, he would continue to answer fake phone calls throughout. and we had cameras hidden in the air freshener. we had another camera hidden in the glove box and so forth. and so while he'd take his phone calls, the driving instructors would get more and more infuriated. >> would you type in her number. >> no, phone over. >> i deleted her number. >> keep your [ bleep ] hands on the driving wheel. >> for parrot this was a home run because it allowed them to get the message out to a ton of people for not a lot of money. >> our sales were up three times in california over where we were before we started. >> the online hits kept coming and buzz on the video grew. >> i think it was a million clicks in the first week. >> we're probably going to have to go back. >> no, i'm driving. >> just pull over here. >> pizza. can we have pizza. you want to get pizza now?

it's kind of early. >> i think we're just going to chill. >> it was just tremendously funny. that's what drove the viral success of this campaign. people were sending it around to others saying you've got to see this. and that's the best thing you can hope for. >> curious about the driving instructors? want to know who was real and who was fake? okay. here you go. these two are the actors. but did it really matter? the video was flat-out funny and became an instant classic. >> part of the balance is figuring out what makes something believable and emotional and not over the top. and that's a very hard chord to strike whether you're a teenage kid, a mother or a marketer. it's a real struggle for people, because everyone instantly tries to find the big bang, the thing that really sparks a chord. but oftentimes that big bang thing is much more subtle than people realize. >> better to be part of something good that not many see than something crappy that's all over the place. so i think this -- they just did it right and it worked out well

with this video that it was very funny and people liked it. >> you got to hang up the phone. we're done! we're done! [ bleep ] it! [ bleep ] it! our next video starts out somewhat ominously. we find ourselves in a university lecture hall. >> as a viewer, you start the video. why are we watching the video of a class? did someone fall down the stairs? that's the typical classroom viral video. >> then -- ♪ comes to class every day it seems we all fall asleep, we lost our dreams ♪ >> when he starts to sing, you quickly realize this is something different, you haven't seen it before. >> i love videos like this. >> he goes through the entire musical number. he doesn't care that no one is into it at first. he keeps going and going, running around the classroom engaging with the audience not necessarily engaging with him back. it's really a special and unique thing. ♪ but all we need is just one chance ♪ >> but was it a real class complete with a surprise professor and student body or was the whole thing staged?

>> you want to believe it because it's funny and hilarious. wow, that kid has got some -- to get up there and sing. >> was it fake, was it not fake? there was a lot of confusion with people who saw the video as to whether they thought it was real or fake. >> find out when "caught on camera -- viral videos real or fake" comes back.

questions? anyone have occasional constipation diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. in a columbia university lecture hall, professor james valentini begins his chemistry lecture. it's the last class before the final when -- >> hey, teach, i've got a question. >> mike berry breaks out into song. ♪ when we come to class it seems we've all lost asleep ♪ >> and it's all caught on camera. ♪ but when did we become this way, so disillusioned, so

blase ♪ ♪ i can make the calculation ♪ >> a lot of people liked that video because we all want that to happen. disrupting the ordinary day. people love musicals and hate math and science. everybody wants to see that happen in the lecture. but, again, i have terrible skepticism. i'm a bitter, bitter person who watches this and says where's the lap mike. why is there so many cameras. where is the sound coming from? why is the sound quality so good in this lecture hall? ♪ you must think we only party and drink beer ♪ >> the professor i thought would step in at some point. >> could a couple of students really hold up a huge class right before the final without anyone stopping them? many believe the professor and the students were in on it. but others say the reactions seem too genuine. ♪ reach, teach ♪

>> so was the video real or was it fake? >> people have asked us the question who knew what? and the answer is that except for the people involved in the actual prank, the camera people, the director, the choreographer and the people who performed in it, nobody knew what was going. >> it was really a setup, it would be a whole big production not just four kids totally disrupting a class. it's a great idea. all that stuff is just great ideas. ♪ but all we need is just one chance ♪ ♪ to be treated as your equals and to dance ♪ >> the idea came out of an improv group barry was part of called prangstgrup which posted the video in 2005. >> prangstgrup was a bunch of students at columbia university and our main mission was really to perform sketch comedy in public for what i guess we would call a captive audience. ♪ they risk their professions for the chance ♪

♪ to be inspirations to kids like me ♪ ♪ they teach ♪ >> the idea was about creating a performance and putting it up in front of people who weren't expecting the performance where they were. it's very funny to have somebody stand up in the middle of a very normal situation and start singing. ♪ and to dance ♪ >> i love, love, love that idea. i always felt that it would be fun to do, but that i could never do it with a straight face. ♪ to change our lives and reach teach ♪ >> it's very original and it's a little subversive. you've got that element of, oh, i've never seen that before. so i love this. i like musicals. >> as simple as it may look, breaking out into song in class took a fair amount of planning. mike and his band of pranksters

picked the largest lecture hall they could find, which turned out to be a chemistry class. >> the night before we sort of set up how we would go about it. so the day of the prank, we walked into the classroom like we were just students in that class. and i was miked. there was a boom box all set up. one cameraman was stationed outside. the class began and my cue was to stand up and scream, hey teach, i've got a question. i don't think i can describe to you accurately just how scared i was. because i was afraid someone was going to stop me. i was interrupting a class. i thought the teacher would run up and shut me up or somebody would get in my way or something would happen that would stop the prank right in the middle and that would be the end of it. so i was scared to death. >> and what about the teach? what did he think? >> i had no idea this was going to happen. i was stunned.

it was so well done, so well produced and choreographed, the singing, everything was so professional it was as if gilbert and sullivan met vh1 and appeared in my class. >> while the members of prangstgrup have graduated and moved on, their work lives forever on the web. there's little argument in this columbia university lecture hall they captured a little piece of viral video magic. >> for video to be successful, it needs to be first of all creative, second of all well executed and, three, really needs to strike this emotional chord. and that emotional chord is probably the most critical because, again, you're encouraging someone to actively share something, tell friends and other family you have to watch this video. >> hey, teach, i've got a question. >> you have this video where people plan for months. they go to a classroom and they jump up and sing and dance. that's just never been seen before. it's unique and it's well planned and it's amazingly executed. depending on your point of

view, our next video features either a secret fantasy or secret fear of office workers worldwide. >> we all have someone in our office who think could be that guy. this is a video of that guy going mad in the office. ♪ >> tina from accounting is down. this one definitely had me. >> immediately, i thought it was fake, because a lot of these are fake. the thing that made me think that it was real is this chick right here. she caught what looked like a monitor in the head. and i was like, if this was not real, they would have been, like, all right, stop. >> everyone wants to believe this is true because everybody hates their boss and everybody hates that printer. everybody hates tina from accounting. those damn halogen lamps. >> yeah. i was like, wow, this guy is really pissed. that guy's 401(k) did not look the same this morning as it did yesterday.

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a cubicle worker cracks and destroys his office. ub believable yet so believable. the video immediately became a hit but did it really happen? was it real or fake? the video is fake. and it even fooled the experts. >> it fooled all of us. even those of us who have been in the business and watched almost every video around. we don't know. we watched it and said it could be real. might be real. turns out i don't care.

>> i was totally suckered in retrospect i need to see things. you need to unplug a monitor. that just doesn't come popping out. >> the office raid video was the brainchild of director timur bekmambetov looking for a new way to promote his movie "wanted." >> we know that the audience, our audience, our target audience is teenagers. we understood that the place where we can find them is the internet. what they like and we like, it's a viral video. >> the video plays off a scene in the movie where a young office worker smashes a colleague over the head with his keyboard. >> what if we extend it. what if we make it as a viral video of action spot. i didn't expect that it would be so popular. in my mind, it's like 500,000 people, it's great. >> in fact, the secret advertisement got nearly 4 million views in the first week it was posted.

for bekmambetov viral videos were a natural marketing choice. >> i really like it. it's very organic. it's a future because you don't have to pay for that. you don't have to pay to distribute. >> and as for people wondering whether it was real or fake, he says that's exactly what he wanted. >> they think, oh, no, maybe it's made up. no, it's real. >> the success of the viral video caught the director by surprise. he's keen to try it again. after all, "wanted" grossed more than $340 million worldwide. >> maybe there's a better way how to do this and next time we will use new techniques, but it was entertaining. it was an event, entertaining and something to talk about. >> next, from office rage to primal love. the video that melted the hearts of nearly everyone who watched it. >> unless you're, you know, a guy who stabs people you can't

really help but get choked up. >> two people adopt a baby cub lion, they raise it for a year, essentially let it run around a church. then when it became an adult lion, they brought it back to africa and let it go in the wild. >> they kind of bring you in in the beginning when you see two hippies playing with a lion. who plays with a lion? that's awesome. >> every child's dream right there, pet lion, right? >> this gets us into the phenomenon of how popular cats are online. why do people love cats so much? >> the critical point in this story line comes when the two men go to africa to seek out the lion a year later. for a moment, the lion eyes the two humans. he rushes toward them. >> it's the sweetest story in the world, right? they're like let's just see if he doesn't maul us. i mean, literally that's the question they ask themselves. that's beyond viral video. that's a real powerful story, you know? >> that's pretty fascinating to watch. it makes you nervous they're

going to get their faces ripped off because we've probably all seen those videos. but it kind of also makes you want to do that. don't you want to hug that lion? >> this video almost overnight, if you think about a 30-year time span became a national phenomenon once it went on the internet. and it's because you see that moment of the lion running towards these people and recognizing them as his parents. it's impossible not to have some strong emotional attachment and resignation with that. and so the first thing you would do is forward it along. >> the video was a phenomenon and a particular favorite of at least one morning show. >> and now to a new clip that is all the rage on the internet. it's amusing and may make you laugh. but it's also uplifting. >> we've all seen this video 100 times but we still love it. >> i'm crying. >> you're crying. which is disturbing. >> the video is touching, heart felt and so, so sweet. which, of course, led some people to believe that was a big fat fake.

>> there's always a question if something is for real. >> there are naysayers who claim it's a fake or they think it's a fake. i don't think so. >> no, it looks pretty real to me. >> it looks real to me. >> the story is a pretty unbelievable story. the fact that i hadn't heard of this before, made me think, oh, wait, how did they fake this. is that a person in a lion suit? were they using fake film? >> the story was so captivating did it matter if it wasn't real? >> it's entirely possible that lion wasn't real. it's entirely possible the whole thing was staged. but the way the story was created and the way it played out and the way the online portion was distributed, you can only think this is really something different and special. >> if it's fake, i think i might go shoot somebody. that would -- how could you be so cruel to make that up is what i would say. i'm hoping it's real. let's put it that way. >> well, no need to worry. the video is real. but the true adventure of christian the lion was first told in a documentary that became the source of the viral video footage.

the unlikely love story started in swinging london in 1969 when our two heroes, john rendal and ace burke went shopping at harrah's department store and bought a lion. >> so ace and i saw these two lions. a lioness and the cub that we subsequently called christian. and he was totally, totally irresistible. it was really a shock to see these beautiful creatures in such a tiny cage. >> we half wanted to rescue him from this situation, and we half thought it would be an adventure. >> anyone could see that he really loved us, we really loved him. we were part of his pride. >> eventually the lion became too big so john and ace took christian to africa and turned him over to a conservationist george adamson who would release him back into the wild. about a year later, john and ace went back to africa to look for christian and found that the

magic was still there. >> he comes closer and closer and closer. and then you can just see that click of recognition. so we called him and that's when he took off. >> and he ran towards us with such excitement. the exuberance of it is what surprised everyone. the euphoria of that moment. in fact, we were all caught up in it. there was the most beautiful sort of connection between humans and animals. >> the moment we saw him, we knew there was no reason to be frightened at all. >> it predated the viral medium by nearly 40 years, but this